Reading the Outsiders
by kazoquel4
Summary: When Two-Bit picks up a book titled 'The Outsiders', the gang is anxious to see what's written about their youngest member- and what kind of trouble he's going to get himself into. A 'character's read' story featuring all the boys; what will they think about Ponyboy and Johnny's story? (Set before the book) R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

Soda looked down at his cards, frowning. He had an ace hidden up his sleeve, which would help him win the game, but he wasn't sure he could get it out under Steve's sharp gaze. His best friend was well aware that he would cheat if given the chance, and wasn't about to let that happen.

"Your move, Soda," Steve said, lazily leaning back in his chair and surveying Soda from across the table.

"I'm goin', Randle," Soda snapped at him, glancing back down at his cards.

Darry entered the room, looking around at the two of them playing poker. Dally was sprawled out on the sofa, picking the dirt out from under his nails with a switchblade, while Johnny sat nearby, flicking through one of Ponyboy's books.

"Where's Two-Bit?" Darry asked, walking over to a pile of papers Ponyboy had left out and nudging them to the side.

Steve glanced behind him at the eldest Curtis brother. "He said somethin' about going downtown," he said lazily. "Probably out robbing a bank or somethin'."

Seeing Steve's momentary lapse of concentration, Soda slipped the ace from his sleeve, adding it to his hand of cards. Soda's poker face never slipped, but there was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes that signaled not all was right.

Dally was watching the whole thing from his spot on the couch. While he was all for cheating (he had done it himself many times), he loved any excuse to mess with one of the boys.

"Soda had an ace in his sleeve," he said nonchalantly. "Slipped it out when you weren't lookin', Steve."

Soda turned to glare at Dally. "I did not!" he protested.

Steve threw his cards in. "That's it, Soda, I ain't gonna play if you keep doin' this."

"It's the whole point of the game!" Soda tried to say.

Suddenly, the door flew open with a bang. Johnny jumped, his eyes growing wide as he looked around fearfully.

"Guys! Guys, guess what I found!" Two-Bit said, rushing in.

"Jeez, Two-Bit!" Soda exclaimed, holding a hand to his heart and taking a deep breath. "You just about gave me a heart attack! Was that really necessary?"

"Yes!" Two-Bit said, waving something around in the air. "You'll never guess what I picked up in the bookstore!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Steve said, holding his hands up. "_Two-Bit Matthews _in a bookstore? You're fibbin', right?"

"I ain't fibbin'," Two-Bit said, rolling his eyes. "I stopped in the bookstore cause I was bored is all. Wanted to see if I could nick something for Ponyboy- a coming-home present or somethin'- and I found this!"

Ponyboy had been gone two days on a trip, and was returning tomorrow. His science class had taken a field trip to this camp-thingy (Ponyboy had explained it, but no one had really listened to his ranting), and he had been extremely excited about it. While the gang was happy for him, things hadn't been the same without him around; they couldn't wait until he would be back tomorrow.

"Alright, what is it?" Soda asked, laying down his cards and turning to Two-Bit.

"It's a book!" Two-Bit said, holding it out.

"I wouldn't have guessed," Dally muttered, appearing uninterested. His focus was still on his switchblade.

Deciding to humor Two-Bit, Steve grabbed the book, glancing at the cover. "The Outsiders," he read, "by S.E. Hinton." He glanced up at Two-Bit. "Did you actually pay for this?"

Two-Bit looked offended. "'Course not, Steve."

"Well, I don't see what's so special about it," Darry said, crossing his arms and raising a cool eyebrow.

"What's so special about it," Two-Bit said, snatching the book back from Steve, "is it's about _Ponyboy._"

That caught everyone's attention. Soda sat up as though he was electrocuted, Johnny's eyes widened even more, and even Dally looked up to stare at Two-Bit.

"What do you mean 'about Ponyboy'," Darry said slowly, his eyes narrowing.

"Well, listen," Two-Bit said, flipping the book over to the back cover. "**Ponyboy can count on his brothers. And on his friends. But not on much else besides trouble with the Socs, a vicious gang of rich kids whose idea of a good time is beating up "greasers" like Ponyboy. At least he knows what to expect- until the night someone takes things too far.**" He looked up. "Told ya so. It's about Ponyboy, didn't I tell you?"

Darry strode forward, seizing the book from Two-Bit's hands. He skimmed the back of the book to see for himself, as everyone watched him curiously.

"Why," he said slowly, "it _is_ about Ponyboy." He looked up to glare at Two-Bit. "Who the heck is this S.E. Hilton, and why are they writing about my kid brother?"

Two-Bit held up his hands defensively. "I dunno, do I? I just found the book, right there in the middle of the shelf. Don't go accusing me of nothing."

Soda slowly stood up, walking over to Darry. "We're reading it," he said firmly, taking the book.

"I dunno," Steve said slowly. "Maybe we ain't supposed to read it. What if-"

"It's about my brother," Soda snapped. "We're going to read it. At least the first couple of pages to see what's going on."

He sat down on the sofa next to Dally, opening the book. Looking around at his motionless friends, he said, "Well, come on then! Sit down and listen!"

Exchanging looks with each other, the rest of the gang took their positions around Soda. Flipping to the right page, Soda began to read:

"Chapter One."

* * *

**A/N: So, I recently read the Outsiders. AMAZING. It's my new favorite book; if you haven't read it, go do it. But after I finished, I found that I really, really missed all the characters. I couldn't just leave them! I wanted to keep them going. So I thought of this idea, and wrote it down.**

**Sorry if all the characters aren't completely in character, I did my best. This is just a little drabble I'm doing cause I don't have anything to do at the moment. And sorry for the cruddy title, couldn't think of anything :/**

**If anyone read this, please review and tell me what they think. The chapters in the book are long, so it may take me a bit to post them, but I will.**

**Thanks for reading, if you did! **

**Xoxo,**

**Kayla**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Anything in bold letters is taken from the book. I do not own any of the characters.**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

**When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home.**

"What…" Two-Bit said, blinking at the book.

"So it's from Pony's point of view," Darry said, sharing an anxious glance with his brother.

"Excellent! Wonder what he thinks of us!" Two-Bit said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

"This must be in the future," Steve noted. "I can't think of anything that's happened before big enough to get in a _book._"

"What if it's telling us what's going to happen in the future?" Soda asked, looking around at the group.

Everyone was silent for a moment, thinking about it, before Soda broke the silence and started to read again.

**I was wishing I looked like Paul Newman- he looks tough and I don't- but I guess my own looks aren't so bad.**

"That's a matter of opinion," Two-Bit said, grinning.

Soda wacked him in the back of the head.

"Ow!" Two-Bit complained, rubbing his head.

**I have light-brown, almost-red hair and greenish-gray eyes. I wish they were more gray, because I hate most guys that have green eyes, but I have to be content with what I have. My hair is longer than a lot of boys wear theirs, squared off in back and long at the front and sides, but I am a greaser and most of my neighborhood rarely bothers to get a haircut.**

"Haircuts are overrated," Two-Bit said, waving his hand dismissively.

**Besides, I look better with long hair.**

"That's a matter of- OW!"

**I had a long walk home and no company,**

"Why didn't he call us?" Soda asked, frowning.

**but I usually lone it anyway, for no reason except that I like to watch movies undisturbed so I can get into them and live them with the actors.**

"The kid's crazy," Steve muttered under his breath, slowly shaking his head. Johnny smiled slightly, thinking of his best friend.

**When I see a movie with someone it's kind of uncomfortable, like having someone read your book over your shoulder.**

"Note to self," Soda said thoughtfully, "go to _all _movies with Pony."

**I'm different that way.**

Dally snorted.

**I mean, my second-oldest brother, Soda,**

"Yes! I'm in the story!" Soda cheered.

"What would you think, Soda?" Dally snapped. "The story is from Ponyboy's point of view; of course you'd be in it, moron."

"Hurtful," Soda muttered, turning back to the book.

**who is sixteen-going-on-seventeen, never cracks a book at all,**

"Oh, the irony," Two-Bit said wistfully, glancing at the book in Soda's hand.

**and my oldest brother, Darrel,**

"Haha! Darrel!" Two-Bit laughed. "I'm gonna call you that from now on!"

Darry glared at him. Two-Bit's laughter cut off abruptly.

"Fine," he muttered, put-out.

**who we call Darry, works too long and hard to be interested in a story or drawing a picture, so I'm not like them.**

"You work too hard," Soda muttered.

**And nobody in our gang digs movies and books the way I do. For a while there, I thought I was the only person in the world that did. So I loned it.**

"He sure does lone a lot of things," Steve commented.

**Soda tries to understand, at least, which is more than Darry does.**

Darry's eyes narrowed slightly. He wasn't quite sure whether he wanted to hear Ponyboy describe him.

**But then, Soda is different from anybody; he understands everything, almost.**

"I have the gift," Soda said, nodding solemnly.

**Like he's never hollering at me all the time the way Darry is, or treating me as if I was six instead of fourteen.**

"I don't do any of that," Darry snapped.

"Darry," Dally said lazily, "I'm rarely around, and I hate to tell you this, but you do."

Darry frowned slightly. Did he really yell that much?

**I love Soda more than I've ever loved anyone, even Mom and Dad.**

Soda's eyes widened. More than Mom and Dad? He hadn't known that Ponyboy cared so much for him. But he felt a pang of guilt shoot through his heart, and looked over at Darry, who was staring at the book with a blank, emotionless expression.

**He's always happy-go-lucky and grinning, while Darry's hard and firm and rarely grins at all.**

"I do grin a lot," Soda muttered, unsure of what to say. No one was looking at Darry, who was stubbornly doing the same to everyone else.

**But then, Darry's gone through a lot in his twenty years, grown up too fast.**

"That's also true," Two-Bit said. "Darry's had to take on a lot of responsibility; it ain't his fault he's a bit stressed at times."

Darry shot him a grateful look.

**Sodapop'll never grow up at all. I don't know which way's the best. I'll find out one of these days.**

Soda and Darry exchanged awkward looks. Ponyboy's thoughts were turning out to be… enlightening.

**Anyway, I went on walking home, thinking about the movie, and then suddenly wishing I had some  
company. Greasers can't walk alone too much or they'll get jumped, or someone will come by and scream "Greaser!" at them, which doesn't make you feel too hot, if you know what I mean.**

"Doesn't help self-esteem much, no," Two-Bit said cheerfully.

"He shouldn't be walking home alone," Darry muttered, looking worried.

**We get jumped by the Socs. **

"God-damn, good-for-nothing little…" Dally continued muttering obscenities at the Socs under his breath, which Soda just read over.

**I'm not sure how you spell it, but it's the abbreviation for the Socials, the jet set, the West-side rich kids.**

"Of course, Pony worries about spelling," Soda said fondly.

**It's like the term "greaser," which is used to class all us boys on the East Side.**

**We're poorer than the Socs and the middle class.**

"And better," Two-Bit added. "Just sayin'."

**I reckon we're wilder, too. Not like the Socs, who jump greasers and wreck houses and throw beer blasts for kicks, and get editorials in the paper for being a public disgrace one day and an asset to society the next.**

"Society's messed up," Dally muttered.

**Greasers are almost like hoods;**

"But not Ponyboy," Darry said firmly. His brother was going to have a better future; he would make sure of it.

**we steal things and drive old souped-up cars and hold up gas stations and have a gang fight once in a while.**

"A gang fight a day keeps the doctor away!" Two-Bit said happily.

Steve rolled his eyes. "An apple, Two-Bit. An apple a day keeps the doctor away."

"Same thing."

**I don't mean I do things like that.**

"He'd better hope so," Soda said seriously.

**Darry would kill me if I got into trouble with the police.**

"You bet I would!" Darry said.

**Since Mom and Dad were killed in an auto wreck, the three of us get to stay together only as long as we behave. So Soda and I stay out of trouble as much as we can, and we're careful not to get caught when we can't.**

"Words of wisdom from Ponyboy Curtis," Two-Bit said, nodding.

**I only mean that most greasers do things like that, just like we wear our hair long and dress in blue jeans and T-shirts, or leave our shirttails out and wear leather jackets and tennis shoes or boots. I'm not saying that either Socs or greasers are better; that's just the way things are.**

"I thought we were better…" Two-Bit said, pouting.

**I could have waited to go to the movies until Darry or Sodapop got off work.**

"That would have been the wise thing to do," Dally said.

**They would have gone with me, or driven me there, or walked along, although Soda just can't sit still long enough to enjoy a movie and they bore Darry to death.**

"They're so loooong," Soda complained.

**Darry thinks his life is enough without inspecting other people's. Or I could have gotten one of the gang to come along, one of the four boys Darry and Soda and I have grown up with and consider family.**

Steve stared at the book, surprised. Two-Bit sniffled, holding a hand to his heart. "I'm touched, Pony, real touched," he said mockingly.

**We're almost as close as brothers; when you grow up in a tight-knit neighborhood like ours you get to know each other real well.**

"True," said Johnny quietly.

**If I had thought about it, I could have called Darry and he would have come by on his way home and picked me up,**

"But he doesn't think," Darry muttered, "so that won't work."

**or Two-Bit Mathews-**

"YES!" Two-Bit cheered. "The story just got SO much better! I'm in it!"

Soda rolled his eyes. "Sit _down_, Two-Bit."

**one of our gang- would have come to get me in his car if I had asked him, but sometimes I just don't use my head.**

Darry clenched his jaw. He was going to get himself into a load of trouble one day.

**It drives my brother Darry nuts when I do stuff like that, 'cause I'm supposed to be smart;**

"He _is _smart," Soda protested. "He's just not… er, street-smart?"

**I make good grades and have a high IQ and everything, but I don't use my head. Besides, I like walking.**

"Why?" Two-Bit asked blankly.

**I about decided I didn't like it so much, though, when I spotted that red Corvair trailing me.**

Darry and Soda stiffened, and the rest of the gang exchanged nervous looks. Johnny paled a bit, realizing what could happen to Ponyboy.

**I was almost two blocks from home then, so I started walking a little faster.**

"Come on, Pony," Soda interrupted himself to mutter. He and Darry were thinking the same thing: if something happened to their brother in the book, there was nothing they could do to protect him from where they were.

**I had never ben jumped, but I had seen Johnny after four Socs got hold of him, and it wasn't pretty.**

Johnny looked down at the sofa, picking at the fabric, while Dally observed him almost in concern.

**Johnny was scared of his own shadow after that. Johnny was sixteen then.**

**I knew it wasn't any use though- the fast walking, I mean- even before the Corvair pulled up beside me and five Socs got out. **

"Oh, god, no," Darry muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. _Not Ponyboy._

**I got pretty scared- I'm kind of small for fourteen even though I have a good build, and those guys were bigger than me.**

"I would hope he's scared," Steve said, feeling worried despite himself. He may not actually _like _the little twat, but that didn't mean he wanted him to get _hurt. _And, okay, maybe he had grown a bit attached to the kid… but he still didn't _like _him, of course.

**I automatically hitched my thumbs in my jeans and slouched, wondering if I could get away if I made a break for it.**

"Please try," Soda pleaded.

**I remembered Johnny- his face all cut up and bruised, and I remembered how he had cried when we found him, half-conscious, in the corner lot.**

Johnny winced as though he had been slapped. Dally glared at the book, blaming it for making Johnny remember things he didn't want to.

"You alright, Johnnycake?" Two-Bit asked anxiously.

Johnny shook his head. "I'm fine," he mumbled.

**Johnny had it awful rough at home- it took a lot to make him cry.**

"That's right," Two-Bit said softly, "'cause Johnny here is tough." He slung an arm around Johnny's shoulder, grinning at him. Johnny returned the smile grudgingly, unable to keep it off his face.

**I was sweating something fierce, although I was cold.**

Johnny's grin slid off his face as he remembered the predicament his friend was in.

**I could feel my palms getting clammy and the perspiration running down my back. I get like that when I'm real scared.**

"He does," mumbled Darry absentmindedly, tapping his thigh worriedly.

**I glanced around for a pop bottle or a stick or something- Steve Randle, Soda's best buddy, had once held off four guys with a busted pop bottle-**

Steve smirked- he couldn't help it.

**but there was nothing. So I stood there like a bump on a log while they surrounded me.**

"Damn it, Ponyboy, move!" Darry exclaimed.

Two-Bit cleared his throat. "Darry, I hate to break this to you," he said seriously, "but you are talking to a book."

"Can it, Mathews!"

**I don't use my head.**

"No kidding," Dally said, rolling his eyes.

**They walked around slowly, silently, smiling.**

"They'd better give us the names, so I can go and kill them before this even happens," Soda said in a conversational tone of voice.

"**Hey, grease," one said in an over-friendly voice. "We're gonna do you a favor, greaser. We're gonna cut all that long greasy hair off."**

"Hows about I cut off your-"

"Two-Bit!"

**He had on a madras shirt. I can still see it. Blue madras. One of them laughed, then cussed me out in a low voice. I couldn't think of anything to say. There just isn't a whole lot you can say while waiting to get mugged, so I kept my mouth shut.**

"That's probably for the best," Steve said. "Who knows what damage the kid would do if he talked to them?"

"**Need a haircut, greaser?" The medium-sized blond pulled a knife out of his back pocket and flipped the blade open.**

A growl came from the back of Soda's throat, and everyone jumped slightly; it sounded so animalistic. "They wouldn't _dare_," he hissed.

**I finally thought of something to say. "No."**

Despite the serious circumstances, Dally snorted. "Sorry," he quickly said as Darry and Soda spun on him.

**I was backing up, away from that knife. Of course I backed right into one of them.**

Darry dropped his head to his hands, groaning out, "You _idiot_," in a voice so quiet only Soda, who was sitting right next to him, could hear.

**They had me down in a second. They had my arms and legs pinned down and one of them was sitting on my chest with his knees on my elbows, and if you don't think that hurts, you're crazy.**

Soda's voice faltered slightly. He knew this happened to greasers all the time, but the thought of it happening to his _baby brother _was just too much. He could tell Darry was feeling the same way as him, judging from how he was slowly shaking his head, not looking up at anyone. This _couldn't _happen to Ponyboy, it just couldn't…

Two-Bit cleared his throat awkwardly. "I shouldn't have taken this stupid book," he muttered. "Look, if you guys wanna stop readin'-"

"No!" Soda and Darry immediately snapped.

"We need to make sure he's okay," Darry snarled, finally looking up. "Keep reading, Soda."

**I could smell English Leather shaving lotion and stale tobacco, and I wondered foolishly if I would suffocate before they did anything.**

Darry ground his teeth together.

**I was scared so bad I was wishing I would.**

"Pony!" Soda said, horrified.

**I fought to get loose, and almost did for a second;**

"Yeah, Ponyboy!" Two-Bit cheered, his spirits momentarily lifted.

**then they tightened up on me and the one on my chest slugged me a couple of times.**

Two-Bit deflated. "Never mind," he muttered.

**So I lay still, swearing at them between gasps.**

"Ah, I want to hear him swear," Two-Bit mumbled.

**A blade was held against my throat.**

Soda gulped. Darry's eyes widened. "No…" he muttered, disbelieving.

"**How'd you like that haircut to begin just below the chin?"**

"Oh, god, no, not Ponyboy," Soda said, shaking his head as if that would stop it. "They _can't_, they just _can't_…"

**It occurred to me then that they could kill me.**

Darry shut his eyes, unmoving, simply listening and waiting. Steve swallowed.

"The kid sure is blunt," he said weakly.

**I went wild. I started screaming for Soda, Darry, anyone. Someone put his hand over my mouth, and I bit it as hard as I could, tasting the blood running through my teeth.**

"Hope he needs stitches," Two-Bit muttered.

**I heard a muttered curse and got slugged again, and they were stuffing a handkerchief in my mouth. One of them kept saying, "Shut him up, for Pete's sake, shut him up!"**

Soda dropped the book, leaping to his feet. "I'll be right back," he muttered.

Darry was immediately on his feet. "Where are you going?" he asked sharply.

Soda spun around, his hand on the doorknob. "I'm gonna find those Socs and beat the tar out of them," he snarled. "No one touches my kid brother and gets away with it."

He threw open the door, ready to sprint out, but Darry lunged and caught hold of his arm.

"Oh, no you don't," he said, kicking the door shut again with his foot and yanking Soda back.

"Let go of me!" Soda snapped, trying to tug his arm out of Darry's grip.

"No!" Darry said. "Look, I know you're worried about Pony- how do you think I feel?- but we don't even know if they actually do anything to him. Plus, you would never be able to find those exact Socs. Now _sit down _and don't do anything _rash_!"

Soda was slightly stunned by Darry's speech, but reluctantly dropped his hand. Slouching back to his seat, he dropped onto the sofa, picked up the book, and started reading again as if nothing had happened.

**Then there were shouts and the pounding of feet, and the Socs jumped up and left me there, gasping.**

"Told you so," Darry muttered, looking relieved himself.

**I lay there and wondered what in the world was happening- people were jumping over me and running by me and I was too dazed to figure it out. Then someone had me under the armpits and was hauling me to my feet. It was Darry.**

"Superman to the rescue!" Two-Bit cheered. Soda beamed at Darry, who smiled back grudgingly.

"**Are you all right, Ponyboy?"**

"It would take more than that to hurt Ponyboy," Soda said, rolling his eyes. "I don't know why you were all worried…"

Everyone stared at him.

**He was shaking me and I wished he'd stop. I was dizzy enough anyway.**

"Darry…" Johnny said softly. He knew how Ponyboy felt about Darry; he thought his brother hated him. While he knew that wasn't true, he also knew nothing he could say would convince Pony. Only Darry could do that, and Darry didn't have a clue that Pony felt that way.

**I could tell it was Darry though- partly because of the voice and partly because Darry's always rough with me without meaning to be.**

Darry sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. _Whoops, _he thought.

"**I'm okay. Quit shaking me, Darry, I'm okay."**

**He stopped instantly. "I'm sorry."**

**He wasn't really.**

Darry frowned. "Huh?"

**Darry isn't ever sorry for anything he does.**

"I'm sure I was," he complained.

"'Course you were, Dar," Soda said reassuringly. "Pony's just a little shocked is all."

**It seems funny to me that he should look just exactly like my father and act exactly the opposite from him.**

"I sometimes thought that too," Two-Bit muttered.

**My father was only forty when he died and he looked twenty-five and a lot of people thought Darry and Dad were brothers instead of father and son. But they only looked alike- my father was never rough with anyone without meaning to be. **

**Darry is six-feet-two, and broad-shouldered and muscular. He has dark brown hair that kicks out in front and a slight cowlick in the back- just like Dad's- but Darry's eyes are his own.**

Everyone's eyes flicked towards Darry's despite themselves.

**He's got eyes that are like two pieces of pale blue-green ice. They've got a determined set to them, just like the rest of him. He looks older than twenty- tough, cool, and smart. He would be real handsome if his eyes weren't so cold. He doesn't understand anything that is not plain hard fact. But he uses his head.**

Darry ran a hand across his face, dismayed at his brother's assessment of him. Soda shot him a sad smile, but decided to wait to talk to him.

**I sat down again, rubbing my cheek where I'd been slugged the most.**

**Darry jammed his fists in his pockets. "They didn't hurt you too bad, did they?"**

"Yes," Two-Bit said.

**They did.**

"See, Pony agrees with me!"

"Shut it, Two-Bit."

**I was smarting and aching and my chest was sore and I was so nervous my hands were shaking and I wanted to start bawling, but you just don't say that to Darry. **

"Yes he could," Darry muttered. "I wouldn't care."

"**I'm okay."**

Soda let out a huff. "Idiot, you need to tell us things!" he snapped at the book.

**Sodapop came loping back.**

Two-Bit snickered. "_Loping…_"

**By then I had figured that all the noise I had heard was the gang coming to rescue me. He dropped down beside me, examining my head.**

"**You guy cut up a little, huh, Ponyboy?"**

"What?" Soda asked, frowning. Pony hadn't mentioned any cuts.

**I only looked at him blankly. "I did?"**

"Kinda slow, ain't he?" Steve asked, raising an eyebrow.

**He pulled out a handkerchief, wet the end of it with his tongue, and pressed it gently against the side of my head. "You're bleedin' like a stuck pig."**

"How did he not notice that?" Dally asked, rolling his eyes.

"**I am?"**

"Scratch that- he's _really _slow," Steve corrected.

"**Look!" He showed me the handkerchief, reddened as if by magic.**

"Magic…" Two-Bit said, waggling his fingers.

"**Did they pull a blade on you?"**

"Yes," Soda answered himself bitterly.

**I remembered the voice: "Need a haircut, greaser?" The blade must have slipped while he was trying to shut me up.**

Soda paused, gulping. If that blade had slipped, say, near Pony's throat… taking a deep breath, Soda started reading again in a subdued voice, ignoring the sympathetic glances he was receiving.

"**Yeah."**

**Soda is handsomer than anyone else I know.**

Soda visibly brightened, smirking around at the gang proudly.

Two-Bit, however, looked sad. "Poor Pony," he said solemnly. "The stupid Socs obviously messed something up with his eyesight."

"Come off it," Soda grumbled, glancing back down at the book.

**Not like Darry- Soda's movie-star kind of handsome, the kind that people stop on the street to watch go by.**

"Hear that? People stop to watch me," Soda said, bobbing his head importantly.

Dallas rolled his eyes. "Just _read, _Soda."

**He's not as tall as Darry, and he's a little slimmer, but he has a finely drawn, sensitive face that somehow manages to be reckless and thoughtful at the same time.**

Two-Bit stood up and walked over to Soda. Leaning down, he stared intently into his eyes, his nose less than an inch away.

"Er- Two-Bit?" Soda asked cautiously. "Watcha doing? You're kind of breathing on me…"

"Shh," Two-Bit said, stroking Soda's cheek. "I just wanted to see your sensitive, thoughtful face…"

Soda pushed off Two-Bit, who was laughing by now. "Sit down, Two-Bit, and shut up!" Grumbling, he turned back to the book and read on, not as excited about his paragraph by now.

**He's got dark-gold hair that he combs back- long and silky and straight- and in the summer the sun bleaches it to a shining wheat-gold. His eyes are dark brown- lively, dancing, recklessly laughing eyes that can be gently and sympathetic one moment and blazing with anger the next.**

"Golly, Soda, he almost makes you sound _impressive,_" Steve said, shaking his head in disbelief.

**He has Dad's eyes, but Soda is one of a kind. He can get drunk in a drag race or dancing without ever getting near alcohol. In our neighborhood, it's rare to find a kid who doesn't drink once in a while. But Soda never touches a drop-**

"He'd better not," Darry warned.

**he doesn't need to. He gets drunk on just plain living. And he understands everybody.**

**He looked at me more closely. I looked away hurriedly, because, if you want to know the truth, I was starting to bawl. I knew I was as white as I felt and I was shaking like a leaf.**

"I don't blame him," Johnny muttered quietly.

**Soda just put his hand on my shoulder. "Easy, Ponyboy. They ain't gonna hurt you no more."**

"**I know," I said, but the ground began to blur and I felt hot tears running down my cheeks. I brushed them away impatiently.**

Soda frowned, but didn't stop his reading.

"**I'm just a little spooked, that's all." I drew a quivering breath and quit crying. You just don't cry in front of Darry.**

Darry sighed. _This is ridiculous, _he thought.

**Not unless you're hurt like Johnny had been that day we found him in the vacant lot. Compared to Johnny I wasn't hurt at all.**

"'Course he'll still be scared," Johnny protested.

**Soda rubbed my hair. "You're an okay kid, Pony."**

"Yup," Two-Bit nodded. "Except for that whole reading thing he likes to do. What's up with that?"

"Ah, come off it, Two-Bit," Soda said, rolling his eyes.

**I had to grin at him- Soda can make you grin no matter what. I guess it's because he's always grinning so much himself.**

"You do smile an awful lot," Dally said. "It's kinda creepy sometimes."

"**You're crazy, Soda, out of your mind."**

"And loving every minute of it!" Soda said happily.

**Darry looked as if he'd like to knock our heads together. "You're both nuts."**

"Yup," Two-Bit agreed.

**Soda merely cocked one eyebrow, a trick he'd picked up from Two-Bit.**

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, you're stealing my eyebrow trick?!" Two-Bit asked, glaring at him.

Soda cocked an eyebrow at him. "'Course not, Two-Bit."

"**It seems to run in this family."**

"Oooohhh," Two-Bit said. He stopped glaring at Soda and smirked at Darry, who just gave him a '_really?_' look.

**Darry stared at him for a second, then cracked a grin.**

Two-Bit gasped. "It smiles!" he said incredulously.

**Sodapop isn't afraid of him like everyone else and enjoys teasing him.**

"Afraid of me?" Darry asked, blinking.

"You're kinda scary sometimes, mate," Steve admitted.

"But we still love you," Two-Bit grinned.

**I'd just as soon tease a full-grown grizzly;**

Everyone snorted.

**but for some reason, Darry seems to like being teased by Soda.**

"I'll do it more, then!" Soda said happily.

"No," Darry said flatly.

**Our gang had chased the Socs to their car and heaved rocks at them. They came running toward us now- four lean, hard guys. They were all as tough as nails and looked it.**

"Aw, yeah," Two-Bit said, leaning back in his seat and bobbing his head.

**I had grown up with them, and they accepted me, even though I was younger, because I was Darry and Soda's kid brother and I kept my mouth shut good.**

"What?" Two-Bit asked, sitting up again. "That's not the only reason we accept him! I _like _Pony; he's a good kid, like Soda said. Right, Steve?"

Steve shrugged, but Johnny nodded.

"Pony's one-of-a-kind," he said quietly.

**Steve Randle was seventeen, tall and lean, with thick greasy hair he kept combed in complicated swirls. He was cocky, smart, and Soda's best buddy since grade school.**

Soda and Steve exchanged grins.

**Steve's specialty was cars. He could lift a hubcap quicker and more quietly than anyone in the neighborhood, but he also knew cars upside-down and backward, and he could drive anything on wheels. He and Soda worked at the same gas station- Steve part time and Soda full time- and their station got more customers than any other in town.**

"It's cause we're so awesome," Soda nodded.

**Whether that was because Steve was so good with cars or because Soda attracted girls like honey draws flies, I couldn't tell you.**

Soda smirked at Steve. "That's easy. My looks," he said, at the same time Steve said, "My car skills."

There was an awkward silence in which both boys eyed each other, before Soda said again, "_My looks._"

"_My _car skills," Steve countered, eyes narrowing slightly.

"Can't we just agree you both make a good team and move on with our lives?" Dally asked, rolling his eyes.

Soda frowned at him, but went back to the book.

**I liked Steve only because he was Soda's best friend.**

Soda blinked. "Huh?" he asked. Steve shifted in his seat; Soda was kind of oblivious to the rift between his best friend and his kid brother.

**He didn't like me- he thought I was a tagalong and a kid;**

"What?!" Soda asked in disbelief. "No he doesn't, Pony! Right, Steve?" he demanded, turning to his best friend.

"Er…" Steve said awkwardly, not meeting Soda's eyes.

Soda stared at him incredulously. "He's not a tagalong _or _a kid, Steve!"

"I know Soda, just read," Steve snapped.

**Soda always took me with them when they went places if they weren't taking girls, and that bugged Steve.**

"_I _ask him," Soda snapped. "It ain't his fault." He glared at Steve, who still wouldn't look at him.

**It wasn't my fault; Soda always asked me, I didn't ask him. Soda doesn't think I'm a kid.**

"No, I don't!" Soda said. He spun on Steve, who finally glanced up. "I don't want you doing anything to make my kid brother feel bad," he warned.

Steve swallowed. "Got it, Soda," he muttered. The rest of the gang watched awkwardly, unsure on what to say.

**Two-Bit Mathews was the oldest of the gang and the wisecracker of the bunch.**

"Yay, it's my turn," Two-Bit said weakly, trying to break the tension between Soda and Steve. It didn't work.

**He was about six feet tall, stocky in build, and very proud of his long rusty-colored sideburns. He had gray eyes and a wide grin, and he couldn't stop making funny remarks to save his life. **

"Can too," Two-Bit defended.

Dally shot him a look. "No you can't, Two-Bit."

**You couldn't shut up that guy; he always had to get his two-bits worth in. Hence his name.**

"I don't talk that much," Two-Bit said surely.

Soda had to snort, which gave Steve a little hope they weren't going to be fighting for long. "Seriously, Two-Bit?" he asked. "You've been talking the entire book. I can't go a single sentence without you interrupting m-"

"Can too!" Two-Bit said again.

Soda shut his eyes briefly. "_My point,_" he muttered.

**Even his teachers forgot his real name was Keith, and we hardly remembered he had one.**

Two-Bit frowned. "I have a real name?" he asked curiously.

**He was famous for shoplifting and his black-handled switchblade (which he couldn't have acquired without his first talent), and he was always smarting off to the cops.**

"It brightens up their dull lives," Two-Bit nodded.

**He really couldn't help it. Everything he said was so irresistibly funny that he just had to let the police in on it to brighten up their dull lives.**

"Seems like Two-Bit doesn't change much," Steve noted. Soda sent him a sharp look, and he shut up. Soda was obviously still miffed about his best friend and his brother hating each other.

**(That's the way he explained it to me.) He liked fights, blondes, and for some unfathomable reason, school.**

"It does seem pretty odd," Dally said lazily, kicking his feet up on the coffee table.

**He was still a junior at eighteen and a half and he never learned anything. He just went for kicks. I liked him real well because he kept us laughing at ourselves as well as at other things.**

"Hear that? Pony likes me," Two-Bit said, nodding importantly and grinning.

**He reminded me of Will Rogers- maybe it was the grin.**

Everyone looked at him. "Eh," said Soda.

**If I had to pick the real character of the gang, it would be Dallas Winston- Dally.**

Dally glanced up, slightly interested despite himself to hear his description.

Soda skimmed through the pages. "Aw, Dally, your description's so _long,_" he complained. "Can we skip it?"

"No, Soda," Darry said. "Just read."

**I used to like to draw his picture when he was in a dangerous mood, for then I could get his personality down in a few lines.**

Dally frowned slightly. He hadn't known that Pony liked to draw him.

**He had an elfish face, with high cheekbones and a pointed chin, small, sharp animal teeth, and ears like a lynx.**

"So, basically, he's an animal," Two-Bit said.

Dally glared at him.

**His hair was almost white it was so blond, and he didn't like haircuts, or hair oil either, so it fell over his forehead in wisps and kicked out in tufts and curled behind his ears and along the nape of his neck. His eyes were blue, blazing ice, cold with a hatred of the whole world.**

Johnny glanced up at Dally, a frown pressing at the corners of his lips.

**Dally had spent three years on the wild side of New York and had been arrested at the age of ten. He was tougher than the rest of us- tougher, colder, meaner.**

No one made any comments, just kind of awkwardly sat there as Soda read.

**The shade of difference that separates a greaser from a hood wasn't present in Dally. HE was as wild as the boys in the downtown outfits, like Tim Shepard's gang.**

**In New York, Dally blew off steam in gang fights, but here, organized gangs are rarities- there are just small bunches of friends who stick together, and the warfare is between the social classes.**

"Rumbles," Two-Bit said, grinning. "They're always fun."

**A rumble, when it's called, is usually born of a grudge fight, and the opponents just happen to bring their friends along.**

"'Just happen'," Darry muttered, shaking his head.

**Oh, there are a few named gangs around, like the River Kings and the Tiber Street Tigers, but here in the southwest there's no gang rivalry.**

"Oh!" Two-Bit said excitedly, "We should totally make a gang. Alright, hmm… 'Two-Bit's Army'? Or- or 'The Two-Bit Mathews Experience'!"

He said his names eagerly and proudly, but everyone just gave him blank looks. Finally, Soda slapped him upside the head.

"Ow!" Two-Bit whined, rubbing his head. "What was that for?"

"For being an idiot."

**So Dally, even though he could get into a good fight sometimes, had no specific thing to hate.**

Dally rolled his eyes. "I hate plenty of things."

**No rival gang. Only Socs.**

"They're one of them," Dally nodded.

**And you can't win against them no matter how hard you try, because they've got all the breaks and even whipping them isn't going to change that fact.**

Dally's eyes narrowed, and Steve muttered obscenities under his breath at the Socs.

**Maybe that was why Dallas was so bitter.**

"Hmm… interesting hypothesis…" Two-Bit said thoughtfully, stroking his chin.

Darry sighed. "Two-Bit, do you even know what hypothesis _means_?"

Two-Bit thought hard. "It's some science-y thing, innit?"

**He had quite a reputation.**

Dally smirked.

**They have a file on him down at the police station. He had been arrested, he got drunk, he rode I rodeos, lied, cheated, stole, rolled drunks, jumped small kids-**

"Not the best role model," Steve muttered.

**he did everything. I didn't like him, but he was smart and you had to respect him.**

Dally nodded, rather pleased with his overall description. Had to respect him… he liked that.

**Johnny Cade was last and least.**

Johnny's face closed off slightly, dreading his description. Dally glanced at him out of the corner of his eyes, slightly worried.

**If you can picture a little dark puppy that has been kicked too many times and is lost in a crowd of strangers, you'll have Johnny.**

Johnny looked down at his lap. Two-Bit frowned, then said, "I'm sure you're an awesome puppy, Johnny."

Johnny glanced up and gave him a small smile, which Two-Bit eagerly returned.

**He was the youngest, next to me, smaller than the rest, with a slight build. He had big black eyes in a dark tanned face; his hair was jet-black and heavily greased and combed to the side, but it was so long that it fell in shaggy bangs across his forehead. He had a nervous, suspicious look in his eyes, and that beating he got from the Socs didn't help matters.**

Dally clenched his teeth. _Those stupid, good-for-nothing Socs_, he repeated for the thousandth time in his head, _ruining Johnny's life before it even began._

**He was the gang's pet, everyone's kid brother.**

Two-Bit slung an arm across his shoulder. Johnny flinched slightly, but tried to return Two-Bit's grin.

**His father was always beating him up, and his mother ignored him except when she was hacked off at something, and then you could hear her yelling at him clear down at our house.**

Johnny winced. "You can?" he asked, embarrassed.

Soda gave a tight nod. "You're mom's loud," he mumbled.

**I think he hated that worse than getting whipped.**

Johnny agreed in his head; it was worse, in his opinion.

**He would have run away a million times if we hadn't been there. If it hadn't been for the gang, Johnny would never have known what love and affection are.**

Soda nodded. "We love you, Johnny. Right, guys?"

Everyone murmured their agreements, and Two-Bit exclaimed, "Yup!"

Johnny smiled, his cheeks flushing, but didn't say anything in response.

Soda glanced down the page. "Phew, that's the end of descriptions," he said. "Let's get to the good stuff!"

**I wiped my eyes hurriedly. "Didya catch 'em?"**

"**Nup. They got away this time, the dirty…" Two-Bit went on cheerfully, calling the Socs every name he could think of or make up.**

"Drat," Two-Bit muttered, "they got away."

"**The kid's okay?"**

"He's fine, fortunately," Darry said.

"**I'm okay." I tried to think of something to say. I'm usually pretty quiet around people, even the gang.**

"He is," Two-Bit said. "It's kind of creepy sometimes, he never says anything most of the time."

**I changed the subject. "I didn't know you were out of the cooler yet, Dally."**

"**Good behavior. Got off early."**

Steve raised an eyebrow. "Good behavior?"

Dally shrugged.

**Dallas lit a cigarette and handed it to Johnny. Everyone sat down to have a smoke and relax. A smoke always lessens the tension. I had quit trembling and my color was back. The cigarette was calming me down.**

"He needs to quit smoking so much," Darry muttered.

**Two-Bit cocked an eyebrow. **

"You stole that," Two-Bit mumbled, sending a look at Soda.

"**Nice-lookin' bruise you got there, kid."**

**I touched my cheek gingerly. "Really?"**

**Two-Bit nodded sagely. "Nice cut, too. Makes you look tough."**

"Oh, yes, because nearly getting your throat slit is 'tough'," Soda muttered.

**_Tough _and _tuff _are two different words. _Tough _is the same as rough; _tuff _means cool, sharp- like a tuff-looking Mustang or tuff record. In our neighborhood both are compliments.**

**Steve flicked his ashes at me.**

Soda growled slightly. "Steve…"

"I _know,_" Steve snapped.

"**What were you doin', walkin' by your lonesome?" Leave it to good old Steve to bring up something like that.**

"Good old Steve, mhmm," Soda said, huffing. Now that he thought back to it, he realized he had been extraordinarily naïve when it came to his brother and best friend; it was quite obvious that they hated each other.

"**I was coin' home from the movies. I didn't think…"**

"**You don't ever think," Darry broke in, "not at home or anywhere when it counts.**

"Harsh, man," Dally noted, stretching back lazily.

**You must think at school, with all those good grades you bring home, and you've always got your nose in a book, but do you ever use your head for common sense? No sirree, bub. And if you did have to go by yourself, you should have carried a blade."**

"You don't want him to carry a blade!" Soda protested. "They would have done much worse to him if he had, anyways."

Darry didn't answer.

**I just stared at the hole in the toe of my tennis shoe.**

"I think you hurt his feelings," Two-Bit noted.

Darry glared at him. "Gee, Two-Bit, thanks for that analysis."

**Me and Darry just didn't dig each other. I never could please him.**

"Yeah, you can," Darry muttered, forgetting that Ponyboy wasn't actually there.

**He would have hollered at me for carrying a blade if I _had _carried one.**

Soda gave a sharp nod, agreeing with his brother's thoughts.

**If I brought home B's, he wanted A's, and if I got A's, he wanted to make sure they stayed A's. If I was playing football, I should be in studying, and if I was reading, I should be out playing football.**

"The kid can't win, can he?" Two-Bit asked as Darry frowned at the book.

**He never hollered at Sodapop- not even when Soda dropped out of school or got tickets for speeding.**

"That's different," Darry protested.

Soda frowned. "Why?"

Darry blinked at him. "Well… uh, Pony's younger."

Steve shook his head. "Dude, you need an excuse better than that."

**He just hollered at me.**

Darry muttered something out of his breath, worry evident in his eyes even as he glared.

**Soda was glaring at him. "Leave my kid brother alone, you hear? It ain't his fault he likes to go to the movies, and it ain't his fault the Socs like to jump us, and if he had been carrying a blade it would have been a good excuse to cut him to ribbons."**

"You tell it, um… me?" Soda finished uncertainly. Steve snorted.

**Soda always takes up for me.**

**Darry said impatiently, "When I want my kid brother to tell me what to do with my other kid brother, I'll ask you- kid brother."**

Two-Bit chuckled. "Ah, Darry. I love your sense of humor."

"What sense of humor?" Dally asked dryly.

**But he laid off me. He always does when Sodapop tells him to.**

"That's right!" Soda said proudly.

**Most of the time.**

Soda deflated a bit. "Well, alright then."

"**Next time get one of us to go with you, Ponyboy," Two-Bit said. "Any of us will."**

"**Speakin' of movies-" Dally yawned, flipping away his cigarette butt- "I'm walkin' over to the Nightly Double tomorrow night. Anybody want to come and hunt some action?"**

"Ya mean go and be a public menace?" Darry asked flatly.

Dally smirked. "The best kinda menace, if you ask me."

**Steve shook his head. "Me and Soda are pickin' up Evie and Sandy for the game."**

Soda fist-pumped. "Yes! Sandy and I are still goin' strong!"

Two-Bit snorted. "You say that like it's surprising."

**He didn't need to look at me the way he did right then. I wasn't going to ask if I could come.**

"Ah, Steve," Soda sighed.

**I'd never tell Soda, because he really likes Steve a lot, but sometimes I can't stand Steve Randle. I mean it. Sometimes I hate him.**

Soda winced. "Pony's a good kid," he muttered, ignoring Steve, who was trying to catch his eye.

**Darry sighed, just like I knew he would. Darry never had time to do anything anymore. "I'm working tomorrow night."**

"Seriously, take a few days off," Two-Bit said, shaking his head.

**Dally looked at the rest of us. "How about y'all? Two-Bit? Johnnycake, you and Pony wanta come?"**

"**Me and Johnny'll come," I said. I knew Johnny wouldn't open his mouth unless he was forced to.**

Everyone shot Johnny quick looks despite themselves, and Johnny wrung his hand slightly, wishing Ponyboy were here.

"**Okay, Darry?"**

"**Yeah, since it ain't a school night." Darry was real good about letting me go places on the weekends. On school nights I could hardly leave the house.**

"It's like trying to escape from jail," Two-Bit snickered.

"**I was plannin' on getting boozed up tomorrow night," Two-Bit said.**

"Aww yeah," Two-Bit said, leaning back in his seat.

Steve rolled his eyes. "Get a life, Two-Bit."

"I have a life!" Two-Bit defended.

"**If I don't, I'll walk over and find y'all."**

**Steve was looking at Dally's hand. His ring, which he had rolled a drunk senior to get, was back on his finger. **

Dally nodded slowly, turning the ring around on his hand.

"**You break up with Sylvia again?"**

"What else is new?" Dally muttered.

"**Yeah, and this time it's for good. That little broad was two-timin' me again while I was in jail."**

Soda shook his head. "Stay away from here, Dally. She ain't good news."

**I thought of Sylvia and Evie and Sandy and Two-Bit's many blondes. They were the only kind of girls that would look at us, I thought.**

"What's he talkin' about?" Two-Bit asked. "I got all sorts of girls hanging off of me."

Soda actually laughed. "Sure, Two-Bit."

**Tough, loud girls who wore too much eye makeup and giggled and swore too much. I liked Soda's girl Sandy just fine, though. Her hair was natural blond and her laugh was soft, like her china-blue eyes. She didn't have a real good home or anything and was our kind- greaser- but she was a real nice girl.**

Soda smiled softly, thinking about Sandy. Two-Bite waved his hand in front of his face.

"We've lost him," he pronounced to the others.

**Still, lots of times I wondered what other girls were like.**

Soda snapped out of it. "Whoa, when did he start thinking about girls?" he demanded.

Two-Bit snickered. "He's growin' up, Soda," he said seriously.

"Mhmm," Darry muttered doubtfully, crossing his arms.

**The girls who were bright-eyed and had their dresses a decent length and acted as if they'd like to spit on us if given a chance. Some were afraid of us, and remembering Dallas Winston, I didn't blame them.**

Dally looked pretty proud of himself.

**But most looked at us like we were dirt- gave us the same kind of look that the Socs did when they came by in their Mustangs and Corvairs and yelled "Grease!" at us.**

"I hate Socs," Steve muttered darkly, picking at his nails.

**I wondered about them. The girls, I mean…**

"Ooh lala," Two-Bit said, raising his eyebrows.

**Did they cry when their boys were arrested, like Evie did when Steve got hauled in, or did they run out on them the way Sylvia did to Dallas? But maybe their boys didn't get arrested or beaten up or busted up in rodeos.**

Dally shook his head. "They get beaten up," he said simply.

**I was still thinking about it while I was doing my homework that night. I had to read _Great Expectations _for English,**

"I burned that book," Soda mumbled, his lips twitching.

**and that kid Pip, he reminded me of us-**

"Ah, now we're compared to fictional characters in a book!" Two-Bit said, throwing his hands into the air.

**the way he felt marked lousy because he wasn't a gentleman or anything, and they way that girl kept looking down on him. That happened to me once. One time in biology I had to dissect a worm, and the razor wouldn't cut, so I used my switchblade. **

"He never _thinks_!" Darry exclaimed.

"It was a mistake, Darry," Soda sighed.

**The minute I flicked it out- I forgot what I was doing or I wouldn't have done it- the girl right beside me kind of gasped, and said, "They are right. You are a hood."**

Steve winced slightly. "That's polite."

**That didn't make me feel so hot.**

"Ya don't say," Two-Bit said.

**There were a lot of Socs in that class- I get put into A classes because I'm supposed to be smart-**

"Supposed to be?" Soda asked. "That kid's a genius!"

**and most of them thought it was pretty funny. I didn't, though. She was a cute girl. She looked real good in yellow.**

"Oh, god, not Pony!" Soda moaned. "He's just a kid, he shouldn't be thinkin' about this!"

"You're deluded, Soda," Two-Bit laughed.

**We deserve a lot of our trouble, I thought.**

"Thanks, kid," Steve said sarcastically.

**Dallas deserves everything he gets, and should get worse, if you want the truth.**

Dally should have been angry, but he shrugged. "Eh."

**And Two-Bit- he doesn't really want or need half the things he swipes from stores. He just thinks it's fun to swipe everything that isn't nailed down.**

"It is!" Two-Bit said eagerly.

**I can understand why Sodapop and Steve get into drag races and fights so much, though- both of them have too much energy, too much feeling, with no way to blow it off.**

"Pretty spot on," Soda said.

"**Rub harder, Soda," I heard Darry mumbling. "You're gonna put me to sleep."**

**I looked through the door. Sodapop was giving Darry a back-rub.**

"Probably pulled another muscle," Two-Bit whistled to Johnny, who nodded.

**Darry is always pulling muscles; **

Johnny gave Two-Bit a small, grim smile.

**he roofs houses and he's always trying to carry two bundles of roofing up the ladder.**

"Aw, come on, Dar, I told you to stop that!" Soda protested. Darry shrugged.

**I knew Soda would put him to sleep, because Soda can put about anyone to sleep when he sets his head to it. He thought Darry worked too hard anyway. I did too.**

Soda gave Darry a pointed look.

**Darry didn't deserve to work like an old man when he was only twenty.**

Two-Bit sighed. "Is it just me, or is this book going over really uncomfortable topics?"

**He had been a real popular guy in school; he was captain of the football team and he had been voted Boy of the Year.**

"WOOHOO!" Two-Bit said, hopping up.

Darry rolled his eyes, smiling slightly. "Sit down, Two-Bit."

**But we just didn't have the money for him to go to college, even with the athletic scholarship he had won. And now he didn't have time between jobs to even think about college. So he never went anywhere and never did anything anymore, except work out at gyms and go skiing with some old friends of his sometimes.**

Darry shrugged, but he looked kind of put-out. "It's what needs to be done."

**I rubbed my cheek where it had turned purple. I had looked in the mirror, and it did make me look tough. But Darry had made me put a Band-Aid on the cut.**

Steve snorted. "Real tough."

**I remembered how awful Johnny had looked when he got beaten up.**

Johnny sighed, sinking back into his seat.

**I had just as much right to use the streets as the Socs did, and Johnny had never hurt them. Why did the Socs hate us so much?**

"They're just bored," Dally snarled.

**We left them alone. I nearly went to sleep over my homework trying to figure it out.**

**Sodapop, who had jumped into bed by this time, yelled sleepily for me turn off the light and go to bed.**

"Which means he'll finish what he's reading and then go," Two-Bit noted.

**When I finished the chapter I was on, I did.**

"Nailed it," Two-Bit nodded.

**Lying beside Soda, staring at the wall, I kept remembering the faces of the Socs as they surrounded me, that blue madras shirt the blond was wearing, and I could still hear a thick voice: "Need a haircut, greaser?" I shivered.**

Soda tensed slightly, eyes narrowing.

"**You cold, Ponyboy?" **

"**A little," I lied. Soda threw one arm across my neck.**

"Curtis brother love," Two-Bit cooed mockingly, fluttering his eyelashes.

"Shut it, Two-Bit."

**He mumbled something drowsily. "Listen, kiddo, when Darry hollers at you… he don't mean nothin'. He's just got more worries than somebody his age out to. Don't take him serious… you dig, Pony? Don't let him bug you. He's really proud of you 'cause you're so brainy. It's just because you're the baby- I mean, he loves you a lot. Savvy?"**

Darry sighed. "Thank you, Soda," he said gratefully.

Soda shrugged, grinning. "Ah, I'm sure Ponyboy knows."

Two-Bit chuckled. "He's the baby," he said jokingly.

"It's true," Soda shrugged. "That's what I think of him as, my kid-brother."

"**Sure," I said, trying for Soda's sake to keep the sarcasm out of my voice.**

There was a shocked silence. Darry's jaw dropped. "_Sarcasm?_" he asked. "Why would there be sarcasm? He knows I love him, doesn't he?"

"Darry," Soda said doubtfully, eyebrows furrowed.

Darry groaned, putting his head in his hands. "I didn't know Ponyboy felt like this," he muttered.

"We didn't either, trust us," Two-Bit said, seeming surprised himself.

"We'll talk to him when he gets back," Johnny said softly.

Darry looked up, eyes desperate. "Yeah," he muttered. "Yeah, when he gets back."

Clearing his throat, Soda said, "The chapter's almost over. I'll just… finish up."

"**Soda?"**

"**Yeah?" **

"**How come you dropped out?" I never have gotten over that. I could hardly stand it when he left school.**

Soda sighed.

"'**Cause I'm dumb. The only things I was passing anyway were auto mechanics and gym."**

"You're not dumb," Steve immediately said. Soda ignored him.

"**You're not dumb."**

Steve looked a bit surprised, but shook it off. What did it matter if he and the kid thought the same a bit?

"**Yeah, I am. Shut up and I'll tell you something. Don't tell Darry, though."**

Darry immediately narrowed his eyes, despite how bad he felt. "What?" he asked slowly.

Soda shrugged. "How would I know?"

"**Okay."**

"**I think I'm gonna marry Sandy.**

There was an outburst of noise.

"Alright, Soda!" Two-Bit cheered, grinning.

"Congrats, man," Steve said, slapping his friend on the back.

Johnny smiled around, while Soda sat there, looking stunned.

"Marry?" he asked slowly.

"Why can't you tell me?" Darry demanded.

Soda shook his head. "I dunno, do I? I just… wow…" Taking a deep breath and struggling to keep the grin off his face, he turned back to the book.

**After she gets out of school and I get a better job and everything. I might wait till you get out of school, though. So I can still help Darry with the bills and stuff."**

Although Darry didn't like it, he knew he would need Soda's help. He looked at his hands, frowning.

"**Tuff enough. Wait till I get out, though, so you can keep Darry off my back."**

Darry winced as though someone had physically slapped him.

"**Don't be like that, kid. I told you he don't mean half of what he says…"**

"**You in love with Sandy? What's it like?"**

"There he goes," Steve sighed.

"**Hhhmmm." He sighed happily. "It's real nice."**

**In a moment his breathing was light and regular. I turned my head to look at him and in the moonlight he looked like some Greek god come to earth.**

"I think someone's got a crush," Two-Bit snickered.

Soda shivered and punched Two-Bit's shoulder. "Not. Funny," he said, shaking his head.

**I wondered how he could stand being so handsome.**

Soda stuck his chin into the air proudly as he read, making Johnny laugh silently.

**Then I sighed. I didn't quite get what he meant about Darry.**

"Oh, god," Dally muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

**Darry thought I was just another mouth to feed and somebody to holler at. Darry love me?**

"Yes," Darry whispered to himself, locking his fingers together and staring at the floor.

**I thought of those hard, pale eyes. Soda was wrong, for once, I thought.**

Darry let out a choking noise and jumped to his feet. The others thought he was going to run out and do something stupid at first, but he just started pacing back and forth, not taking his eyes off of his feet. Soda watched him worriedly for a moment before going back to reading, his voice quickening as he tried to get the chapter over with.

**Darry doesn't love anyone or anything, except maybe Soda. I didn't hardly think of him as being human.**

Dally winced. Johnny ran a hand through his hair, watching Darry closely. Darry's face was blank and emotionless, something that scared the rest of the gang.

**I don't care, I lied to myself, I don't care about him, either.**

"Jeez," Two-Bit muttered. Even he knew now was not the time to joke.

**Soda's enough, and I'd have him until I got out of school. I don't care about Darry.**

Darry's shoulders hunched slightly, and he stopped pacing, staring at the ground with dark eyes.

**But I was still lying and I knew it.**

"At least there's that…" Two-Bit said hopefully into the silence that had descended upon the room.

**I lie to myself all the time. But I never believe me.**

Soda trailed off, slowly shutting the book. "That's the end," he mumbled, dropping it onto the table as if it had burned him.

Steve ran a weary hand across his face. "Well that was enlightening," he muttered.

Soda stood up shakily, watching Darry closely. "You alright, Dar?" he asked softly, taking a step toward his brother.

Darry shook his head, not looking up. "Pony doesn't think I love him," he said quietly, almost talking to himself. "Man, I messed up big time… he thinks I don't care about him… how could he…?"

"Hey, it's alright," Soda said, laying a hand on his brother's shoulder.

Darry brushed him off impatiently, looking angry. "No, it's not!" he snapped. "_Nothing's _alright! I mean, I knew Pony and I didn't have the best relationship, but I didn't know it was _this _bad! What if- what if I can't fix it… what if-"

"Darry, stop it," Soda said firmly, getting over the initial shock of getting pushed away by Darry. "Ponyboy's a smart kid, we'll make him understand as soon as he gets back. You hear me? We'll make him understand, Darry. Everything'll be fine."l

Darry just shook his head. "I'm going to bed," he muttered, turning away. "I'll see you all tomorrow."

He stomped off in the direction of his bedroom. In the distance, they heard a door slam and lock.

Two-Bit let out a breath, breaking the silence. "I'm going to crash here for the night," he said, leaning back in his seat.

Soda nodded disparagingly. "Yeah," he said, "alright. You can all stay here for tonight. Ponyboy'll be back tomorrow morning… we need to talk with him…"

"You don't say?" Steve said dryly.

Soda narrowed his eyes. "Don't you say that, Steve Randle," he hissed. "I don't know what you got against Pony-"

"I don't got anything against your kid brother!" Steve protested.

"It sure seemed like it," Soda snarled.

Steve sighed. "Soda, I-"

"Tomorrow," Soda interrupted him. "We'll talk about all of this tomorrow, alright? Night."

Turning around, he stomped off to his bedroom, mirroring Darry and locking it behind him for privacy.

* * *

**A/N: Aw, this is tense, man. I feel so BAD for Darry! Gah, this was fun to write, I have to admit. The next chapter will probably just be Ponyboy's return and all that, and then we'll go on to reading chapter two.**

**Thanks for the reviews, and please continue to leave them if you read this chapter! Take a second and just leave a quick comment; it would mean the world to me, and encourage me to write the next chapter!**

**Sorry for the long wait, it does take a while to write. I'll get the next chapter up soon!**

**Xoxo,**

**Kayla**


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